July 25 is Guanacaste Day, a national holiday that celebrates the anniversary of the annexation of Guanacaste to Costa Rica.

This occurred back in 1824 when this province used to belong to Nicaragua. Because Nicaragua was undergoing many wars at that time, the residents of Guanacaste (used to be called Nicoya) asked to be annexed to Costa Rica and they officially became a province in Costa Rica.

Since it is a national holiday, the government institutions, schools, and banks are closed. Throughout the country are many festivities, mostly in the Guanacaste region of course. Usually there are parades, fairs, and dances and it goes on through the weekend.

There was a parade on the 26th in Playas del Coco and the fair in Liberia continues until the 28th. We went to an expo in Liberia where they displayed bulls (Guanacaste is known for having many cow farms), food, coffee, dances, singing, and what else, cars!

Guanacaste Day

Selling this guys semen for $25 a strawGuanacaste was famous for their bulls

Coffee tasting

Locals wearing traditional dress

Bottle game at the fair

This Toyota Landcruiser costs $128,000!Locals playing music

As we walked around the fair, there were many people dresses in the traditional clothes. Our friend was singing at a bar and the men, dressed as cowboys, were stamping their feet on the ground and having fun with the typical dances.

We watched a man make paintings with spray paint, tried different types of meat from various local food stands, and tasted the 8 regional coffees of Costa Rica. (We got free coffee!) This is a very important holiday for Guanacastecos (residents of Guanacaste) and they go all out.

Costa Rica never fails in putting on fun celebrations for their holidays!